Nerds at work
by hardyyun
Summary: Barry is swimming in the work load so after talking to Joe they decide to hire another guy on to help. Barry is super excited to meet the new guy and have someone around that matches his intelligence. Disclaimer: I don't own these TV shows
1. Chapter 1

Barry Allen is a pretty smart kid. In fact he was pretty much a genius. He had flaws like constantly late, and being in love with someone who would never want him. When he turned into the Flash he thought he had gotten the golden opportunity to get Iris. He was wrong. He found that he liked keeping it a secret. Watching Iris drool over the Flash was hard though. He still wanted her, but how could she not realize that the person she was fawning over was him? He would get over it though.

Especially since while he was in a coma she got a boyfriend. Shows what she was worried about. Well things looked pretty good, though boring. Until one day the department was having a transfer of this guy who was supposedly smarter than he was. Barry was instantly intrigued. His name was Spencer Reid. He sounded like a cool guy and Barry couldn't wait to meet him.

The day he walked in Barry had to hold himself back, so he wouldn't overwhelm the guy. Eventually he got to approach him "Hey!" Barry says as he gives his hand to shake. Spencer smiles big "hey, and you… are Barry." Barry just beams at him. Spencer smiles back before Barry leads him up to his little work space. "This looks like a place I'd like to work in" Spencer says as he follows Barry.

Barry shows him his own desk and the small amount of equipment he has to use. That was when Joe came up to tell them that they had a crime to analyze in a few minutes. Spencer smiled at Barry "Shall we do this?" Barry liked this guys attitude already "Yeah, let's go." Once there Spencer actually beat Barry in saying that the murder was not a robbery, and Barry topped that with adding that it had to have been by somebody they had known because there was no sign of struggle.

He held back from adding the part of it could have been someone invisible. Let's hold back on the crazy for now. We needed to keep Spencer around. Plus he would find out on his own soon enough. When they got back to the lab and sent in samples to be tested Barry and Spencer found themselves in their office yet again.

This time they were hungry. Barry went out and got pizza and while they were eating Spencer began talking. "You know I have done some research on this place. Naturally I wanted to know what I was getting into. Do you think the scene from earlier could have been caused by someone who is… a meta-human."

Barry chocked on his pizza that he had just taken a bite out of. Well… maybe it wasn't going to be so crazy for Spencer after all. Barry began to explain his theory to Spencer and Spencer listened and though he had his own theory it was nice to have someone be quiet the entire time you explain something and actually listen to you. After Barry was done explaining his theory on an invisible meta-human Spencer began to explain what he thought it was.

He thought it was a meat-human that could transport to places because there was no sign of forced entry. Both ideas were good and neither of them tore down the other's idea. To Barry it was nice to have someone to listen to him without the other one trying to draw their own conclusion. For Spencer it was nice to have someone understand him without him simplifying it.


	2. Chapter 2

Barry was running to get coffee as Spencer wrote up their initial report. When he came back Iris was sitting in his chair. She jumped up "Hey Barry!" she said with a big smile. He nodded at her "What are you up to?" he asks as he hands coffee to Spencer.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner with Eddie and I." Barry really didn't, but he couldn't be rude. "Yeah sure" he looked at Spencer "Can Spencer come?" Spencer sips his coffee and looks over the top to look at Iris and then at Barry. He hadn't expected to be pulled into dinner.

Iris turns her smile at Spencer "Of course! It'll be tomorrow night at his place. See you two later!" She waves and leaves without another word. Spencer turns on Barry "You really had to drag me into this?" Barry smiles sheepishly "I'm sorry… I just" "Didn't want to be alone with her and her boyfriend?" Barry nods. Spencer had already guessed he had a huge crush on Iris the first time he met her. He hadn't denied it because why lie?

"I don't mind, but you owe me." Barry smiles and nods "Thank you." Spencer hands him a stapled stack of papers. Barry took the report and looked over it. It was well written and impressed him. "You have a knack for perfection huh?" Barry says teasingly as he hands the paper back. Spencer furrows his brows "I guess…" Barry nudges his shoulder "Nah it's a good thing." Spencer just smiles and goes back to looking over the cases that were left unsolved.

They spent the whole night looking over a 3 year old case about a girl who had been kidnapped. Spencer chose this case because it was the type of thing he would normally deal with at the BAU. Something in the report caught his eye and he remembered something like this in an unsolved case at the BAU. "I'll be right back" Spence announces and stands up.

He steps outside and dials Garcia's number. She answered with a chipper "Hey Reid! Everything going okay?" "Yeah everything is fine, can you do me a favor?" "Anything for you" she says with a chipper tone. "Can you pull up that case with the two missing 9 year olds from 5 years ago? The one that was left unsolved?" "Okie dokie, one moment." He could hear the faint click of keys "Alright anything in particular you are looking for?" "Can you check the report to see if there was anything left behind on the beds of the missing children?"

Several moments later she answered "It says a lily was left on the pillow, but that didn't help the investigation any." "There is a case here that is 3 years old that had the same M.O. as that. Would it be possible for you to send those case files here?" "No problem. Anything else?" "No, thank you." "We miss you over here, call us soon." Spencer smiles "Will do." With that he hung up. Maybe with Barry's help they could solve this case.

* * *

The two worked on the unsolved case all the way up until dinner with Iris and Eddie. Spencer went home to change and shower and Barry decided to do the same thing. Spencer insisted on picking Barry up since he didn't have a car. He picked him up at 7 and arrived at Eddie's house at 7:30. Before opening the door Barry turned to Spencer "I'm sorry if this turns out to be one of those awkward dinners."

Spencer shrugs "I can handle it." Barry bites his lip, but Spencer was already opening the door. Barry sighed and followed him up to the door. Why were they doing this again? Spencer knocked and Eddie answered. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice guy, it was that he was with Iris. "Hey guys! Come on in!" he says waving them in with a friendly smile.

The table had been set for four people and the whole house smelled amazing. Iris couldn't cook that good, so it had to Eddie. Iris placed a bottle of wine on the table and Eddie had disappeared. He returned with a pan of food.

Iris took a seat with her back to the window and Barry sat in the chair to her left. Barry pointed to the other set next to him and Spencer took it. Eddie placed the pan of lasagna on the middle of the table "I hope you guys enjoy, this is the first time I ever made lasagna so forgive me if it isn't good." The four people served themselves and Iris poured the wine.

"So Iris tells me you are in the FBI" Eddie says looking at Spencer. Spencer shrugs "Yeah.. kinda. I'm a profile analyzer." "So you are a good at reading people?" Spencer nods because he had just taken a bite of the lasagna. It was pretty good, but he had had better. If asked he wouldn't say as much. It wouldn't pay to be rude.

"I think it's pretty cool you can look at someone and come pretty close to who they are." Spencer smiled at Eddie. Usually when people learned what he did for a living they asked him to analyze them. It wasn't fun for him because he was always dead on and they never appreciated that. "Thank you" Spencer returned politely before biting another piece of lasagna off his fork.

Iris spoke up next "So how do you two like working together?" Both guys said "It's been fun" at the same time. Barry laughed and Spencer smiled. They locked eyes for a second in what seemed like relief that the other was enjoying the work.

"How long have you two been dating?" Eddie asked. Barry's eyes ripped from Spencer and looked back at Eddie "What?" he asked sounding rather shocked. Spencer remained silent unsure of what to say here. "No, Honey. They only work together. They aren't dating." Iris popped up. Barry was rather relieved that he didn't have to explain anything.

Eddie's whole face turned red "Oh… uh.. um I'm sorry. I really shouldn't assume." Barry felt his face turning red as well, but Spencer was smiling as if he enjoyed the tension in the room. Iris changed the topic quickly and they talked about the case they were currently working on for the rest of dinner.

* * *

Barry climbed back into Spencer's vehicle thankful that this was over with. "I'm so sorry about that" Barry started as Spencer backed down the driveway. "For what? Eddie assuming we were together?" Barry nodded and to his surprise Spencer laughed. It was a nice sound that drifted through the SUV. "Don't worry about it Barry. It didn't bother me."

Barry pursed his lips in thought. Spencer looked over at Barry and laughed again at his face. "Seriously. It doesn't bother me. It isn't the first time someone though I was gay. Does it bother you?" Barry looks over at Spencer "It wasn't him thinking we were together that bothered me. I was just embarrassed."

Spencer pulled to a red light "Embarrassed?" He questioned. "Yes, because when he asked that it suddenly dawned on me that I brought you to dinner with me. He must have thought it was a double date." The light turned green and Spencer drove on. "Don't worry about it. It's over with now." Spencer laughs again which makes Barry smile. He had such a nice laugh. One of those laughs that always brings one's spirits up.

Spencer parked in front of Barry's house "Well on any account, I had fun. The food was good at the least." Barry smiles "Anybody else would have been… upset I guess you could say." Spencer shrugs "I don't see why." He smiles at Barry before he climbs out. Barry waves and watches Spencer leave.


	3. Chapter 3

**Nope. Didn't give up on this story. I like these two together!**

* * *

The next day Barry showed up to find Spencer already in their office. "Hey Barry" Spencer calls sounding only vaguely interested. He was going through a thick stack of paper. "Are those the reports from the BAU?" Barry asked as he settled into the chair opposite Spencer.

Spencer nods without looking up. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips moved as he read the page. Barry grabbed the other report and began reading it. He only used a bit of his speed to keep up with Spencer. They set the reports down at the same time. "Anything?" they both asked. Barry grinned "Maybe… there was blood by the window which was reportedly closed. In order for the window to be closed the kidnapper would have had to stop and pushed the window back down. That isn't all that easy and the kid could have ran, but then again I don't know what kind of window it is. Either the kid was unconscious, knew their kidnapper or they walked out the front door."

Spencer listened with intent to all of Barry's words. He had read the same thing in his report and had made many of the same connections. "The crime scene only did a brief sweep of the house and may have over looked the door. If there wasn't any sign of entry…" "Then the kidnapper has a key or found another way in." Spencer said finishing what Barry was thinking. Barry nodded.

"The same thing was in my report, I don't know why that was never considered… It did say a drop of blood had been found by the window." Barry furrowed his brow "It says the same thing in here… do you think that may have been a distraction?" Spencer bites his lip "Maybe." Barry grabbed the newest report [the one that wasn't from the BAU] and slid his chair over to Spencer.

The report had the exact same M.O. "Do you think there are any other cases like this?" Barry shrugs "We can look." They spent 4 hours going through every case file the station had on kidnapping. It was lunch time and they were almost done, but Barry was _really_ hungry. "There is a café down the road, I'm gonna go grab a bite. Wanna come?" Barry asks Spencer as he puts his coat on.

Spencer sets his folder down. He usually didn't take breaks, but he agreed. He followed Barry out of the station and they walked a block together to the café. "So what should I get?" Spencer asked looking confused at the menu.

"I'll get you something that I usually get. You find us a seat." Spencer nods and walks away. Barry orders two blueberry muffins, 4 mini pizzas, and 2 coffees. It was his usual only doubled. He set the food down [after fixing the coffee the way he knew Spencer liked] and took a bite of his pizza. His only wish was for it to be bigger. Spencer bit into his pizza and was instantly won over. "Well?" Barry asked pausing to see if he had done well. "Pretty perfect" Spencer said with a slight chuckle.

After lunch the two got back to work, but were unlucky. There weren't any cases similar to the other. Oh well it was worth a shot. "Alright what now?" Barry asked feeling already exhausted. "Is there any way we can investigate the house where Alice was kidnapped?" [Alice is the little girl that was kidnapped a year ago… the most resent kidnapping]. Barry thought about it "You want to see the window?" Spencer nods.

While Barry was gone to talk to his boss Spencer went through the files again. Mainly it was just to get an idea on what he should look for. Barry came back "We can go now if you want. I've never gotten anything approved this fast, but apparently the family has moved out and there is nothing stopping us from going to investigate. It's still under our control." Spencer's entire face lights up. He jumps out of his seat "Well come on!" he calls.


	4. Chapter 4

The two nerds were excited to see if anything they gather would help with the investigation. Barry stayed outside of the house. He was standing outside Alice's window and Spencer lifted it. It made a rather loud noise as it was forced to be open. They eyed each other before Barry tried to close the window from the outside. It wouldn't budge even with Spencer's help [He had crawled out the window and Barry couldn't help thinking how cute that was]. They locked eyes with a look that seemed to say "Well that possibility is out."

Instead of going through the door like normal people both Spencer and Barry crawled in through the window. Barry closed it and it made a loud squeaking noise. They tried with every window in the house and the only one that didn't make a sound when it opened _and_ was easy to close from the outside was the window in the parents' room. It was an interesting piece of information, but neither knew what to make of that.

Spencer was trying to figure out how everything fit together, but really the only way for the kidnapper to get in and out was if she/he used a key. The blood by the window must have been just something to throw the cops. It has to be. 3 cases, 3 flowers, and 3 drops of blood. It had to be a set up. Barry had offered to drive them back to the station when Spencer was struck with an idea.

"What if the kidnapper had a key?" Barry nodded intrigued by the idea. They had already concluded that as one of the possibilities. "Think about it… this person has done the same thing 3 times that we know of. There is no way the windows could be used without being caught. This man or woman must have been watching their every move."

"Did they have a house key hidden outside somewhere? Or maybe our perp somehow got a copy." Spencer nods and his hair falls over his shoulder and hides a bit of his face. Barry pulls into his parking spot at the station [which usually went un-used since he didn't have a car. It only made since to share the one special privilege he had with Spencer. What were partners for?]

"If you're right then there will be evidence of someone following this family." He looked at Spencer and he had brushed his hair back behind his ear. Barry liked Spencer's long hair, it made him look more of a geek. Barry kept his hair short, but he was told no matter what his hairstyle was he'd always look like a nerd [thanks Joe].

Suddenly Spencer looked excited. He whipped out his phone and after some quick dialing he placed it against his ear. Barry waited, his curiosity growing. Spencer spoke quickly to a woman by the name Garcia. After five minutes Spencer hung up. "We have a lead."


	5. Chapter 5

**Short chapter, but longer ones are in the works**

* * *

"What's the lead?" Barry asks. There was a bubble of excitement in the pit of his stomach. "The first family, before their child was kidnapped they reported a van outside of their home. The report said the van had been there off and on for a week. It only lasted a week which was why they never reported it again and no one ever looked into it. About two months later their 9 year old child was kidnapped."

"No one thought to look back into it after she was kidnapped?" Spencer shrugged "It didn't connect with the other kidnapping. There were no reports and the family didn't notice any unusual vans or other vehicles near their home." Barry nods "Well what about the first report? Did anyone look into it?" Spencer nods "Yes, but no one except the family saw the vehicle. The trail kinda went cold. It was never a threat at least not at the time." Barry thinks for a moment "Well that had to be the first kidnapping, and whoever it was learned from that moment."

Spencer nods and adds "Which also means that the kidnapper knew he or she had been reported… and that made them be more careful." Barry again nods "We should go to the office and put this all down on paper." Spencer agrees and they both get out. Once in the office they are silent for several hours as they scribble down all sorts of ideas and possible leads. They didn't talk, but somehow they understood each other and coordinated their words.

The Lily had to be placed for a reason. It couldn't be traced by origin because it was the most common of the Lilies. It could be picked up just about anywhere. The name Lily had been thoroughly researched, but nothing came up. There were 5 flower vendors near the house, so that was out. All 5 vendors were questioned and no red flags. The reason for the Lily was still unclear, as was the blood. The blood was of a cow. The same cow for each vial which meant the kidnapper had regular access to the cow given that the blood was fairly fresh.

The only stray in pattern was the fact that the recent kidnapping wasn't in Virginia. Whoever it was had ran. Maybe that meant they were afraid of being caught which meant something happened. That was when the two decided to go to Virginia and look at the two crime scenes, talk to the families again. There had to be something.


	6. Chapter 6

**Enjoy and leave a review! I wanna know what my readers think.**

* * *

Thankfully the trip was approved and fairly quickly too. Spencer was more than excited to get back to his friends at the BAU. Barry was excited to meet them. The moment their plane landed they were surrounded by people. One by one Spencer introduced his team to Barry. The first was Penelope Garcia. She was exactly how Barry imagined her. Fabulous and friendly in a bubbly way. He immediately liked her. Next Barry met Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau or JJ as she said to call her, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss and Aaron Hotchner or Hotch as he was nicknamed.

Derek was a pretty cool guy and Spencer seemed to like him. Hotch was a bit harder to like, but Barry could tell he was the kind of man who would look out for his team. All around he could tell there was a lot of love for Spencer. Spencer was swept in to talk for a while before they could go check out the crime scenes. In fact it was getting kind of late… poor Barry hadn't thought about sleeping arrangements.

The Flash had ended up alone in a break room with a small cup of coffee. It was okay though because he knew Spencer would have some catching up to do. Barry had brought the reports with him so he read over them several times to fill the time. "Hey… sorry about that. I couldn't really get away from all the questions." He looks up at Spencer who was leaning against the door frame. Barry gives a shrug "No it's okay, I get it." He smiles "Yeah, but I didn't mean for you to get kicked to the break room. I had hoped we would get to at least search one of the houses today."

Barry stands and stretches "Yeah me too, but there is always tomorrow." Spencer nods "Well I was gonna head home… if you need a place to crash…" His voice trails off and he does this awkward shrug followed by a gesture. Barry smiles "That would be great, Thank you." Spencer seems relieved and he smiles. "Well come on, I was gonna leave now before anyone could trap me with another dozen questions."

Barry grabs the files and stands. "Don't forget your bag" Spencer says. He was already walking out the door. Barry bends and grabs the bag that was by the table. "Thanks" He says with a smile. Barry had to admit he was rather intimidated by Spencer, but in a good way. He was a genius, not even the people at S.T.A.R. labs intimidated Barry this much. Spencer was waiting by the door for Barry. He hurries to catch up with Spencer.

The drive is fairly short. Barry is absolutely stunned when Spencer pulls in front of his house. It was a fairly big house and it was inviting. "Not what you were expecting?" Spencer asks with his version of a smirk. Though Barry was fairly certain Spencer wouldn't call it a smirk. "Not at all… considering you're my age." He laughs and gets out "I can show you around?"

Barry grabs his things "I'd like that." The two head to the house. The moment Barry entered the house he was met with a soft scent of apples. A light flicks on and washes the room in a soft toned light. It was simply decorated. The hallway they were in only had a small and tall table with a basket for mail on it. He followed Spencer down the hallway and into the living room. There was a large couch that looked like it could hold the entire BAU team. There was also a TV set and a nice rug with a long coffee table on it.

"The uh… team… they come over often to relax and discuss cases. My house was somehow chosen for the official meeting place.." He shrugs and Barry can't help laughing. The genius scrunches up his forehead "Why are you laughing?" His confusion makes Barry laugh more "I'm sorry, it's just…" He laughs again. Pretty soon Spencer joins in. It started off soft, but soon they were laughing loudly and Barry couldn't even remember why.

When it dies down there are little laughter tears in the corners of Spencer's eyes. He wipes at them and smiles at Barry. "You haven't laughed like that in awhile have you?" Barry asks which makes Spencer blush slightly "Not really… I mean don't get me wrong I do laugh, I just…" He sighs and Barry fills in for him "No I get it, I haven't laughed like that in a while either." Spencer awkwardly shifts "I can show you to your room?" Barry nods "Yeah I am kinda beat." He smiles and Barry can't help finding it cute…

Barry blushes at the thought. He was glad Spencer's back was to him. He shows Barry to his room for the night and leaves him to get situated. Barry brushes his teeth and gets ready for bed. The house was quiet and peaceful which meant Barry was left with only his thoughts. He thought about the case and about what sort of things they should ask when they go back to the families. Slowly his eyes drift close. His thoughts shift and suddenly Barry finds himself thinking about Spencer. He was the last thought Barry had as he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to Barry's last thought before he fell asleep his dreams were filled with Spencer. It was innocent little things like going on a picnic. Holding hands in the park and pushing each other on a swing set. In one of the dreams Barry even told Spencer about his powers. The dreams were good, but they were more of what someone with a crush would think about. It may have been better if it was a sex dream because when Barry woke up he realized he was developing a crush on the genius.

It wasn't some simple desire to sleep with the guy. No, Barry wanted to be with him and actually go on dates. Never before had Barry desired a man. Sure he had seen an attractive guy or two, but it wasn't like that then. Eddie was a good looking guy, but that was just a general assessment. Spencer… it was different. Barry could actually see him being intimate with the guy. Kissing and holding hands. Things that Barry would be too scared to admit to anyone.

Spencer was an insanely intelligent guy though. Sooner or later he would figure it out and then what would happen? Barry thought back on that time they had dinner with Iris and Eddie. Eddie had thought the two of them were together which meant somehow Barry had come off as gay and so had Spencer. Thinking about it now it really didn't bother Barry because surprise! He was kinda gay. Spencer himself had shrugged it off as no big deal. Barry wondered why that was.

Barry jumped when a loud knock interrupted his thoughts. "Hey Barry, I made breakfast. You should get dressed quickly so we can finish and go." Footsteps signal Spencer had left. Barry sighs and gets up. He quickly changes and heads out. Spencer was at the kitchen table looking cute as fuck which didn't help Barry. A box of cereal and two bowls were on the table. "Oh you shouldn't have! You didn't have to cook for me!" Barry was grinning as he took the seat opposite Spencer.

Spencer's lips twitch into a small smile "I didn't want to take the time to cook. I figured you'd want to get started as quickly as possible." Barry nods and grabs for the box of cereal. It was simple Cheerios. The two eat quickly and head out. Barry noticed Spencer was acting a little stranger to normal too. Maybe he had already figured out how Barry felt about him… he was a genius… it was possible. Barry had to push his thoughts out of his head when Spencer pulled in front of a large blue and white house.

"Ready?" Spencer asks as he puts his car into park. Barry nods and slides out. All thoughts of Spencer in a romantic way get pushed to the back of his mine. This was more important than that. Spencer took charge and knocked on the door. Mrs. Eldora answered looking worn out and depressed. "May I help you?" She asks in an equally tired tone. "Yes, we are with the BAU" he flashes his badge "My name is Spencer Reid and this is Barry Allen" He gestures to me "There was a recent kidnapping that we have reason to believe connects to your daughter's kidnapping. May we come in?"

She nods and steps to the side. Her eyes are red and she looks like she had been crying. "Excuse the mess Mr. Allen" She leads the way to the living room. "My Husband just recently divorced me, so I am in the middle of moving out." She gives a weak smile as she sinks into a chair. "Ms. Eldora… do you mind if we ask why he asked for a divorce?" She sighs and picks up a nearby picture. "When Susie was kidnapped our marriage fell apart. With each year that went by we would fall further apart. I guess it just got too much."

She sets the picture back down "This recent kidnapping… it could be connected?" Spencer speaks up "The evidence leads to it, yes. I know this is a difficult time to rehash the details of your daughter's kidnapping…" She cuts him off with a raised hand "I already told the FBI that I would do anything to help the investigation. It may have been a few years ago, but that will remain true. What is it you need?"

They go over the folder, only the points they were allowed to bring up. There was one new piece of information. The lily could have an important meaning. A few years after Susie's case was deemed a cold one the Eldoras decided to try and adopt. To offer their empty home to a child who needed it. The adoption center they went to was called Lily Christian Center.

JJ and Emily had gone to the second family to ask questions and gain any new information on the kidnapping. Spencer and Barry went to check out the adoption agency. They really didn't know how it connected yet. The lady at the desk in the front was reluctant to help, but once Spencer flashed his badge she called in the manager. The manager was rather helpful for the case. He kept records of every adoption or possible adopter. Mr. Eldora had adopted a little baby girl in his 20's. Her name was Lily.

Spencer called Garcia and she worked her magic. It took some time for her to get into the file, but sure enough when Mr. Eldora was 24 he adopted a baby girl. She was only a few months old when he brought her home. Her name was Lily Eldora. When she was 8 she was kidnapped and after a week was found in a cow pasture. She had died from exposure. Nothing popped up during their first investigation because the file had been locked and hidden. There was never any connection to it anyway because Mr. Eldora never told anyone about it. His background search never showed the previous adoption which meant someone had scrubbed it off his file.

Mrs. Eldora probably never knew about the adoption. Spencer hangs up and explains his findings to Barry. "Looks like we have a suspect" Barry says and Spencer agrees. There wasn't any real connection to the other families. Mr. Eldora was reliving his daughter Lily's death. That was Spencer's theory and it was a decent one. Barry called Joe and asked him to look into Mr. Eldora and see if he moved down there. Next the two went back to the bureau to gather up teams. They searched every cow field in a 50 mile radius of the Edora's house and the adoption agency.

One team found an abandoned cow field. There was a large barn that had obviously been rebuilt and taken care of. Inside Susie was trapped in a small room that had been locked. She was dirty and looked like she hadn't eaten in days. She was no longer 8 years old. She was almost 12 and she was obviously shaken up. It was a miracle she was still alive. She shrunk away when anyone came close to her. Everyone except JJ. Something about her voice calmed the little girl. Susie clung to JJ and allowed her to take her to the ambulance. She was checked out and was given an IV by a female responder. JJ stayed by her to make sure she wasn't left alone.

The team had continued to look, but the rest of the barn was empty. Hotch considered the idea that maybe the other girl hadn't survived, but Spencer thought different. If Mr. Eldora kept Susie alive than he was probably incapable of killing the other two. Alice and Millie were most likely still alive.


	8. Chapter 8

**I love these two, just a few chapters left**

* * *

Susie wouldn't talk to anyone yet. She was still too shaken up by what happened to her. JJ stayed with her over night, Barry and Spencer continued on with the search groups. They expanded their search perimeter. They searched through the night and all the way into lunch the next morning. Everyone was exhausted and no one had found anything. The team managed to keep Susie's return from the news. They did notify Mrs. Eldora and she agreed to keep it quiet.

Spencer and Barry were afraid if this reached the news then Mr. Eldora would act irrationally and kill both Alice and Millie. The two were worn out from walking for hours. They didn't want to give up, but a sleepless group wouldn't do anyone any good. They caught a ride to Spencer's house with a fellow cop. Barry didn't make it to his room and passed out on the couch. Spencer went to get a blanket for Barry and covered him. He stood there for a moment and looked at the sleeping man. It was nice having him around. Spencer yawned and tore his eyes away. He managed to stumble to his own bed to rest.

Joe and Eddie were busy back in Barry's hometown. Barry had given them the tip to look in nearby cow pastures that had been abandoned. Joe had gathered several groups and had them search every cow pasture in a 70 mile radius. They didn't find the girls, but what they did find was Mr. Eldora dead. He had committed suicide. There was no note, but there were signs of the girls being held here. He must have moved them before he killed himself. Hopefully they were still alive. Joe called Barry and left a voicemail. He explained what they found and asked for Barry to call when he could.

When Barry woke up he felt groggy and out of place. It was dark out which threw his body off. He glanced at the clock. It was a little past midnight. He gave the blanket around him a weird look, before standing. He was _starving_ so he headed to the kitchen and prowled around for something to eat. He must have been too loud because Spencer woke up and flicked the light in the kitchen on. Barry blinked and looked at the disheveled Spencer. His hair was all messed up and he looked adorable. "Hey" Spencer mumbles "I thought I heard you in here." Barry laughs softly "I was hungry… I didn't mean to wake you."

Spencer walks deeper into the kitchen and waves his hand "It's fine, I'm hungry too." He heads to the fridge and catches a glimpse out the window "What time is it?" He asks and looks back at Barry. Barry grins "12:08 p.m." Spencer yawns and looks back in the fridge. It was pretty much empty. "I need to do some shopping." He says with a laugh. Barry nods "Yeah I couldn't find anything either. I was thinking about ordering some pizza." Spencer nods "Yeah…" he rubs his stomach absently "Pizza sounds good."

Spencer follows Barry back to the living room where Barry picks his phone up to make the call. He dials in for two large pizzas before checking his voicemail. He listens to Joe's message twice before telling Spencer the news. "We may never find those girls." Barry says. His stomach drops. After they had found Susie still alive he had gained so much hope that the other two would still be alive. Spencer rests a hand on his shoulder "It's not over yet. We _will_ find them." Barry nods and takes a deep breath "We can pour over the files again while we eat. We may find something new…" Spencer gives Barry a slight smile.

Barry goes to get the files and Spencer grabs some drinks for the two of them. Barry was sitting on the couch. He was working on spreading the files out. To his shock Spencer hands him a beer. "I didn't know you drink." Barry took the bottle from Spencer and looks at the label "Only the good kind." Spencer says. Barry grins and takes a sip. The good kind was expensive and delicious. Spencer sits beside Barry and lifts his own beer to his lips. Barry watches with the feeling that maybe consuming alcohol isn't the best thing to do around his recent crush. Spencer notices Barry staring and it isn't for the first time either. He takes another sip of his drink and picks up a file. He wasn't going to say anything to Barry right now. Not in the middle of a case.

The doorbell goes off and Barry gets up to get the pizza. He pays and comes back in with the pizza. Spencer had cleared off a spot for the boxes. Barry places the boxes down and goes to the kitchen to get some napkins and plates. Spencer was already working on his first slice. Barry grins and hands him a plate and several napkins "Careful not to get any on the papers." Spencer nods and wipes his fingers off before grabbing a piece of paper and looking over it.

An entire box of pizza and three beers each somehow led to a game of chess. Neither had found anything, though they doubted they would. Not after how many times they both had read the files. Barry used to play with Joe, but eventually gave it up when he got older. He didn't have many friends and the ones he did have actually didn't play chess. Cisco was more of a video gamer and while Caitlin loved her board games, she didn't like chess. Spencer was pretty good at it and he won several times. Barry claimed it was because he had gotten rusty, not because Spencer was a pro at it.

Barry was about to make his move and claim checkmate when Spencer jumps up "We missed something!" Barry raises his eyes and looks at Spencer "Missed something? In the case?" Spencer nods "Remember when we went to the most recent victim's house? The only windows that could open without all the fuss was the ones in the parents' room." He slurred a bit which Barry found cute. Lately everything about Spencer was cute. "Right… but what did we miss?" Spencer stumbles over to the files and finds the recent report from Alice's kidnapping.

"We never checked the windows of the other houses and both houses lacked any signs of being broken into. We know the first kidnapping was done by Mr. Eldora. The reason he got in was because it was his own house. The…" He hiccupped softly and Barry grinned. Spencer must not drink much. "The others had to be in on it. No way he got in without showing signs of entry." Barry nodded "Okay, we can check on that in the morning. You need to sleep."

He nods and yawns. His arms go up as he does and his shirt follows. A thin strip of pale skin was exposed and it immediately attracted Barry's gaze. It only lasted for a moment though. "Can you help me?" Spencer asks. He plopped down on the couch and curled up "I'm just gonna nap here. Get me a blanket?" Barry laughed and went to Spencer's room to grab a blanket and pillow. Alcohol didn't affect him, so he was fine. He stepped into Spencer's room and flicked on the light. It was neat and simple just like the rest of the house. One thing that made him pause was the guitar leaning on the wall.

Barry grabbed a blanket and a pillow and headed back. He'd ask about the guitar later. Spencer was still curled up on the couch, but he looked like he was already asleep. Barry wrapped the blanket around him and set the pillow beside him in case he woke up and moved to a more comfortable position. Barry went back to his room and climbed into bed. His thoughts before he went to bed were once again filled with Spencer.


	9. Chapter 9

When Barry woke up it was to his stomach growling. Even though he wasn't using his speed much while he was here, he was still always hungry. There should be left over pizza in the living room. Barry gets up and stumbles his sleepy body to the living room. Spencer was stretched out on the couch still asleep. The blanket was wrapped around him, his foot sticking out from the bottom and an arm under the pillow. He was cute. Barry grabs the boxes and heads to the kitchen.

He starts a pot of coffee and takes a slice of pizza. It was quiet in the house other than the little soft noises coming from Spencer in the living room. He was really starting to like Spencer. It seemed every day his crush grew more… crushing. He went through this for years with Iris and it never got him anywhere. She had ended up with Eddie and now… Barry looked longingly towards the living room. Spencer was smart and sweet. At times he was even funny and the two had so much in common. Barry didn't even care that he had never explored his sexuality like this before. He wanted to give it a shot.

He decided after the case he would open up about his feelings to Spencer. He had a feeling even if Spencer didn't feel the same he wouldn't humiliate him or even judge him. He suddenly had an urge to talk to his best friend about it. He had no idea how he would react to him being possibly gay or bi… truthfully Barry had no idea what he was anymore. After he checked on Spencer to see if he was still asleep he went outside to make a call. He called Cisco first. Even though he had known Iris for longer, Cisco was his closer friend.

"What up!" Cisco called into the phone Barry grinned "Hey Cisco, miss me yet?" Cisco chuckled over the phone line "Everyday. Any leads on the girls?" Barry rubbed his forehead "Yeah, maybe. That's not what I wanted to talk about… I know it's kind of an inappropriate time, but I… I have this crush." Cisco immediately lit up "About time man! Who is it? I want all the deets!" Barry laughed and blushed a little bit "Promise not to judge me?" Cisco scoffed "Come on dude! We are closer than that. I wouldn't judge you even if your crush was on the chef of police. Well… I mean I'd worry about you a little bit because that guy is a dick, but I guess I could understand that I mean…" Barry cut him off "It's not him, but it is someone I work with."

Cisco was sitting down and he suddenly popped up "No way! Is it that new guy? Dr. Reid?!" Barry blushed even harder "Yeah… He's just so… I don't know. It's hard to explain." He was more focused on how relieved he felt that Cisco wasn't making a big deal out of this. "You should go for it. Tell him! I won't let you get caught up in another crush that leads to no where. I know how long it took you to get over Iris." Barry chuckled "Thank you for being so cool about this… I think I'll talk to him after this case." Cisco pumped his fist in the air even if Barry couldn't see it "Best of luck man! I gotta go, Caitlin is coming in. See ya!" The phone call ends and Barry feels a whole lot better about his crush.

When he came back in Spencer was huddled up on the couch with a cup of coffee "There you are" he says after taking a sip of coffee "Thank you for making coffee." Barry nods and goes into the kitchen to make himself a cup too "How'd you sleep?" Barry asks once he returns to Spencer. He gives a shrug "You?" Barry nods "Pretty good I guess." Spencer sets his mug down "Can I ask you something?" Barry raises his eyebrow at his crush "Sure? Shoot." "Why were you not affected by the beer? You had three and you weren't even buzzed." Barry bit his lip. If he told Spencer what he was then he could wind up pushing him away. If he lied to him and the truth came out then that could push him away too.

"You know I did a lot of reading and research before leaving here and working alongside you. I know about meta-humans, I know about the particle accelerator and I know about the flash." Spencer shifted to face Barry "I also know about your coma for nine months. After spending time with you I'm pretty sure I know who you are… you're the Flash." Barry couldn't help smiling at Spencer's brilliance. "Yeah, I'm the Flash." Spencer grinned "You've done great things." Barry blushed "So have you… and you did it all without super speed." Spencer blushed too. "Don't worry Barry, I'm not going to tell anyone… I know if I had powers I'd want to keep it a secret for as long as I could."

Barry smiled at his crush "Thank you Spencer… that means a lot." He felt a sudden urge to hug Spencer and before he knew it he was acting upon that urge. His arms were wrapped around Spencer loosely and his chin was resting lightly on Spencer's shoulder. Spencer wasn't used to hugs and usually he'd tense up when someone sprung a hug on him like this. Except it wasn't all that bad. He found it easy to relax and return the hug. "You're welcome Barry" Spencer said softly. Barry let go before he slipped up more than he already had. "So last night you said you had an idea." Spencer nodded "Yeah… do you think it was anything worth looking into?" Barry nodded "At this point it doesn't hurt to look into any possible leads."

Barry picks up his coffee cup and takes a sip. He was never a big drinker of coffee, he never liked how it tasted and the effects of the caffeine wore off too quickly to actually do any help. Spencer speaks again "I should get dressed." However he doesn't move. Barry sits his coffee cup down and looks over at Spencer. He looks like he wants to say something, but he remains quiet. Barry starts to ask him what's wrong, but Spencer shocks him into silence by scooting closer and kissing him. It was sweet and ending way too soon. The moment Barry felt Spencer pulling away he pulled him back in. His hand cupped the back of Spencer's head and Barry kissed him as softly and sweetly as he knew how.

Spencer brought up a hand and placed it firmly against Barry's chest. After a few more seconds of kissing Spencer pushed Barry away gently. Barry placed his hand on top of Spencer's hand and looked at Spencer for any signs of regret. Spencer was smiling softly at him "We should get ready and go to the office. We can… discuss this further after the case?" Barry nods and Spencer slips his hand away from Barry and leaves to get dressed. Barry uses his speed to get ready. It was nice to be able to use it now that he didn't have to keep it a secret from Spencer anymore.

Spencer emerges from his room fully dressed with his glasses on. Barry had only ever seen him with his glasses on once before. "I like it when you wear your glasses." Barry said before he really realized that he probably had no right to say things like that. They weren't together… they only kissed once. "Thanks." Spencer said which derailed all of Barry's thoughts. Barry grinned and picked up the two to-go cups. "I made us some coffee to take with us." Spencer half grins at Barry "Uh.. thanks." He steps forward and takes one of the cups "All I did was kiss you once and you're already nicer to me" He grins and takes a sip of his coffee. Barry blushes and gaps at Spencer "Did you just make a joke?"

Spencer laughs and heads to the door. Barry really couldn't wait to close this case, as selfish as that sounded, he really wanted to see where this could go with Spencer. Barry wondered if he could steal one more kiss before they left. As it turned out Spencer was waiting by the door. "For someone who has super speed you're really slow" Spencer said with a grin. Barry bit his lip and in a flash he had Spencer pressed against the wall and was kissing him softly. Spencer didn't mind one bit. In all honesty he'd let Barry steal as many kisses as he wanted.

Once the two departed they headed out to Spencer's car. The moment they got to the office Barry went to find Penelope and Spencer went to go talk to Hotch.


	10. Chapter 10

Barry had grown close to Penelope. She was easy to get along with and she had the best advice. With Penelope's help Barry searched any connections between Mr. Eldora and the second house. After ten minutes Penelope exclaims "Boom! I found the connection." Barry slide his chair over so he could look at her screen. "I figured there wouldn't be a paper trail, not with someone who was smart enough to kidnap three people and get away it for years, so what I did was do an extensive search on the cameras near their area."

Barry scrunches his eyebrows "How long do they keep video logs?" Penelope grins "Well they delete them every three months or so, but I pasted a file in as many databases as I could so I would catch the deleted files. It adds up over a long time so I don't have everything, but I have as far back as a year." Barry grins at her "Is everyone here a genius?" She smiles proudly "You have to be in order to be in this line of work." Barry returns the smile at the sneaky compliment. "As I was saying, I keep video files so all I had to do was log into the ones that were near their area. I did a face recognition scan and this popped up." The picture of Mr. Eldora and a woman were on the screen "Is that Millie's mom?" Penelope threw him a weird look "You can just say Mrs. Smith, and yes."

"How long ago was that?" Penelope pulls up the time stamp and Barry chews on his lip. That was the day he and Spencer had went to talk to Mrs. Eldora. That was hardly a coincidence. "I'll go find Spencer. Thanks Penelope." "No problem sugar." Barry smiled and headed out. Penelope had a passion for calling people awkward pet-names.

Spencer was at his desk typing away at his computer. "Hey Spencer, Penelope and I may have found a lead… she found a photo with Mr. Eldora and Mrs. Smith talking. It was the same day we went to go talk to Mrs. Eldora." Barry could already see Spencer's wheels turning. "The two families are connected… I'll have Hotch talk to a judge to get a search warrant." He is already dialing the number. Spencer is amazing because not even an hour later he has the warrant and a whole team at the Smith's house.

Hotch and JJ take both Smiths to the bureau to question. Barry and Spencer continued to search the house for anything they could use in the case. It was a bust. However the moment JJ got Mrs. Smith into an interrogating room she broke and confessed that she was having an affair with Mr. Eldora. Turns out Millie was their kid. Spencer pulled on that thread and found out that Alice's father was also Mr. Eldora.

Knowing this new connection Spencer did some digging. After extensive search into Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Cooper Spencer found out that they had been setting up meetings and planning this whole ordeal. With Penelope's help they hacked into the e-mails. That was all the proof they needed. They weren't too careful about coding their plans. According to the emails they would be keeping the girls in a barn together so they could grow up and get to know each other.

"We should get everyone of the parents and try to figure this all out. Surely with Mr. Eldora's death the plan is falling apart so maybe one of the mothers will break and tell us where the girls are." Spencer nods at Barry's idea. Barry called Joe and he agreed to bring Mr. and Mrs. Cooper into the station. Spencer and Hotch brought in Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith leaving Barry to get Mrs. Eldora. JJ offered to watch Susie and talk to her to see if she knew anything. It was time to sort this situation out.

Mrs. Eldora didn't know anything about Mr. Eldora's affairs. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Smith were having an affair with each other which led to Mrs. Cooper wanting to get back at her husband so she had an affair with Mr. Eldora. Mrs. Smith confronted Mrs. Cooper about their husbands' affair and Mrs. Cooper set her up with Mr. Eldora. That explained how the man ended up with three daughters. Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Smith wouldn't crack on anything else, but Susie did. She knew a lot more than she had originally let on. She had been threatened several times by Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Smith, but now she was protected.

Within an hour and entire crew swarmed an abandoned mill house where Alice and Millie were locked in a room. They were days away from starvation due to Mr. Eldora committing suicide. Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Smith didn't want to risk getting caught so they rarely visited. Both of them were arrested and Mrs. Eldora went about adopting the girls. She didn't want any sibling of Susie's to get lost in the system. The case was finally closed.

* * *

 **The case is finally closed!**

 **Guess what happens next?**


End file.
